Reboot

by Amy Tintera

  “This . . . was the entirety of your plan . . . wasn’t it?” Addie gasped, putting a hand against a tree as she tried to catch her breath. “Just grab me and run?”

  “You have a better one?” Callum asked with a frown.

  “I’m willing to bet I could come up with something.”

  I rolled my eyes as I pulled the map of Austin out of my pocket. We weren’t far from the rebels. We could make it to their house in about ten minutes, once we were sure we’d lost HARC.

  “You feel all right?” I asked Callum.

  He nodded. “Okay. Still . . .” He held out his hand to show me how badly it was shaking.

  “You should eat some meat,” Addie said. “It helps. Especially with the whole ‘wanting to eat humans’ thing. It, like, tricks your system for a while or something.”

  “We’ll get you some as soon as we get to the rebels,” I said, taking another glance around before I plopped down on the grass. Callum sat beside me and laced his shaky fingers through mine. I wanted to climb in his lap and squeeze him until I’d convinced him—and myself—that everything was fine. I resisted, since Addie would probably not appreciate it.

  She was still standing, reading the note from her father again. “Why’d he send you?” she asked, not looking up.

  “Because I wanted a way out and made a deal.”

  “He helped you if you helped me,” she said.

  “Yes.”

  “You could have broken the deal. Just taken off.”

  “We don’t get the location of the reservation until I bring you to the rebels.”

  She bit down on her lip and sighed. “They don’t trust us at all.”

  “Leb was very good to me,” I said, guilt invading my chest as I realized the disappointment on her face was for her father. “The best officer I worked with. And he said he had other kids, so it made sense he didn’t want to risk everything.”

  “I guess.” She glanced at Callum. “Did you leave because you were going crazy?”

  “No, that happened after.” He let out a humorless laugh, rubbing a hand down his face. “They were going to eliminate me because I didn’t want to kill anyone.”

  Addie looked away, clearly uncomfortable, and I squeezed his hand. He’d found something in the distance to stare at and I wanted desperately to change the subject.

  Addie slid down onto the ground and we sat in silence for a long time, listening to the distant sound of officers and shuttles. Callum’s hand was warm in mine, but I was still trembling. I thought it was more from fear than from the wind whipping across my cheeks.

  Callum’s face was turned to the ground, and I tried not to look at him, but his distraught expression was like a magnet. I found myself opening and shutting my mouth as I tried to think of something comforting to say, but there was nothing.

  I’d opened my mouth for the hundredth time when Addie stood up, brushing off her pants.

  “I don’t hear anything,” she said, tilting her head toward the quiet city. “Want to make a run for it?”

  I nodded, offering my hand to Callum as I got to my feet. He stood and crossed his arms over his chest, letting out a big breath of air as he scanned the area in front of us. It was clear, the officers and shuttles gone.

  “You all right?” I asked, lightly touching his arm.

  He nodded without meeting my eyes. “I’m fine. Let’s go meet these rebels.”

  TWENTY-NINE

  THE ADDRESS LEB GAVE US FOR THE REBELS WAS PAST THE schoolhouse and in an area of town I’d known well as a child. The road curved and the houses were run-down and sad, some falling apart. It was more like Rosa in this part of the Austin slums, although many houses were painted bright, happy colors.

  We half jogged, half sprinted across the town, scurrying behind buildings and trees at every noise. It was pitch-black, but the sun would start to rise any minute, and I wanted to get to the rebels before it was light out.

  “That one,” I said, pointing as we approached a dirt road. I slowed to a walk as we turned down it, glancing along the row of brown houses. According to the map, it was the last house on the right.

  We reached the end of the street and trudged across the patchy, brown grass to the front door. This house wasn’t painted. It was brown wood and windowless at the front and narrower than the houses on either side, but extended a bit farther in back. If the point was to not stand out, they had succeeded.

  I glanced around the side of the house to see a short wooden fence. I gestured for Addie and Callum to follow. “Follow me,” I whispered, quickly darting around. We hopped the fence and landed in the dirt of a tiny backyard. I crept up to the brown door at the back of the house and softly rapped my knuckles against the wood.

  Nothing.

  I knocked again, a little harder, casting a nervous glance at Callum. Dealing with humans made me fidgety. I hated relying on them for anything, and I could see by the hope in his eyes that he expected these people would have all the answers.

  “What?” a man’s voice said very quietly, from the other side of the door.

  “It’s us,” I said in a low voice. “Um, Leb sent us?”

  Silence followed my words, then a flurry of noise. They were whispering to one another and running around.

  I dropped Callum’s hand and reached to finger the gun at my hip. I wouldn’t draw a weapon yet. I’d give them a chance.

  It took at least a minute, but the door finally swung open to reveal a bleary-eyed boy with messy, dark curls, pointing a shotgun at my head.

  Giving humans a chance was a dumb idea.

  I grabbed my gun, but the human quickly held out his hand for me to stop. He was trembling.

  “I don’t want to use it,” he said. “We’re just cautious here. If you’d like to come inside, we’re going to need all your weapons.”

  “But you get to keep yours?” Callum asked.

  Callum’s easy, relaxed tone unsettled the human. I could see it in the way his eyes flicked between us, swallowing hard as he looked Callum up and down. He was much shorter than Callum—almost as short as me, actually—and he looked ridiculous pointing the gun at him. We were probably about the same age, although he could have been a bit younger.

  “If you want to come inside you have to give up your weapons,” he repeated.

  “Fine,” I said, holding my gun out. I didn’t need it anyway. With the way the guy was shaking, I could take his gun, break his neck, and dance on the body in two seconds flat.

  I smiled as I handed it over.

  “Anything else?” he asked, lowering the shotgun. He looked pointedly at Addie.

  “I got nothing,” she said, holding up her hands.

  I slipped the knife out of my pocket and gave him that as well. He took it, glancing over his shoulder. He shifted from foot to foot, obviously unsure of what to do next.

  A man appeared behind him. He was much taller than the boy, and he gripped at the edge of the door with a massive hand. He also looked like he’d just woken up, and he ran a hand through his gray-streaked hair as he squinted at us.

  “Which one is Wren?” he asked.

  “Me.”

  “Adina, then?” he asked, and she nodded. He focused on Callum. “And you’re Twenty-two.”

  “Callum.”

  “Tony,” he said. He put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “This is Gabe. Leb assured us you wouldn’t kill us. Are we all still good with that plan?”

  The question was directed at me.

  Callum actually laughed a little, and a smile twitched at the edges of my lips. “Yes.”

  Tony jerked his head and Gabe stepped back, keeping the gun trained on us as I crossed over the threshold. The wood floors creaked beneath my boots and I squinted in the darkness as Tony led us through a hallway and into the living room. The light came from a couple little lamps in the living room. The only window, in the kitchen to my left, was covered by dark curtains.

  There was another human, this one lanky with thick
brown hair to his shoulders, sitting on the plushy brown couch, his eyebrows lowered in a frown. He looked to be about the same age as Tony, and he watched my every move as I stepped inside.

  My eyes darted to the kitchen, but it seemed they were the only humans in the house.

  Tony took big strides across the living room and stopped at the kitchen table, picking up a piece of paper. He headed back to me and held it out. “As promised.”

  It was a map. I took it from him and looked from the drawing of Texas to the instructions written below. The Reboot reservation was several hundred miles north, not far from what used to be the border of Texas.

  “We can help you part of the way,” he said. “You can stay here until tomorrow night, then—”

  He stopped. His eyes were focused intently on Callum, and I turned to see him pressed against the wall, his hand covering his nose and mouth. His whole body was shaking.

  “Oh, Jesus. He’s been given shots, hasn’t he?” Tony asked.

  “Yes. You—”

  “Desmond, go get some rope,” he said, and the lanky guy hopped to his feet and scurried down the hallway. He emerged a moment later with two lengths of rope and headed for Callum.

  “What are you doing?” I asked, jumping in front of him.

  “Sit down,” Tony said to Callum. “Hands behind your back.”

  Callum stepped forward like he was going to listen to this human, and I grabbed his arm, pulling him closer to me.

  Desmond kept coming like he intended to push past me and I gave him a look like I dared him to try. Tony put his arm out to stop him.

  “It’s for our safety,” Tony explained. “Under-sixties can’t be controlled on those crazy drugs HARC gives them.”

  “It’s fine, Wren,” Callum said, running a hand down my arm before stepping closer to Desmond and Tony. Desmond gestured for him to sit and he slid down onto the floor behind the couch. He put his hands behind his back and Desmond began looping the rope around them.

  “You’re in between rounds still, aren’t you?” Tony asked Addie.

  “Yes.” She glanced at me. “I told them there might be an antidote? Or something to make him better?”

  Desmond tightened the ropes on Callum’s wrists and moved down to bind his ankles. “There is one. We don’t have it, though.”

  “Who has it?” I asked. “Is it at HARC?”

  “Do you want to sit?” Tony asked, gesturing to the kitchen table. “Do you want some water or coffee or something?”

  I paused. What was wrong with these humans? They seriously wanted to have water and coffee with a bunch of Reboots?

  Addie started toward the table but I wasn’t leaving Callum tied up on the floor by himself while I had a cup of coffee. I sat down next to him and he gave me a small smile.

  “I just want to know how to get the antidote.” I crossed my legs and met Tony’s eyes.

  He actually looked sad for a moment and his sympathy made me uncomfortable. I didn’t know how to handle that look from most people, much less a human.

  “It’s in the medical labs at HARC. There’s . . . no way. I’m sorry.”

  There was no way for him.

  “Don’t you have people on the inside?” Addie asked. “Like my dad?”

  “I’m on the inside,” Tony said, leaning against the wall. “I’ve been a HARC guard for years.”

  Adina gave him a confused look. “Where? I’ve never seen you.”

  “I work up on the human floors, in the control rooms.” He turned to me. “But I can tell you there’s no way one of our guys can get the antidote out. We don’t have any people in medical and they search everyone before they leave.” He gave me that awful sympathetic look again. “I’m sorry.”

  If he told me he was sorry one more time I’d snap his neck.

  “That’s fine,” I said. “I’ll just have to break in and get it myself.”

  Gabe laughed, cutting off when I turned to him. He swallowed. “Oh. You were serious.”

  Tony and Desmond exchanged a confused look. Tony turned to me and seemed to consider his words carefully. “Hon, you were just in HARC for five years, yes?”

  “Yes. Don’t call me hon.”

  “My apologies. So if you were just there, you know the security. You might get in. And that is a very big might. But you would never get out.”

  “What about in the middle of the night?” Addie asked. “Skeleton crew.”

  “She’s still way outnumbered. And they’d just lock the doors. Cameras would see her.”

  “We’ll find a way to cut the power,” I said.

  “Backup generators,” Tony said. “They kick on in about a minute. You couldn’t do it in time.”

  I clasped my hands together as a rock started to form in the bottom of my stomach. I didn’t care what they said. I was finding a way to get that antidote.

  “A bomb,” I said. “What if we blew up a portion of the place? No one would miss it.”

  Desmond snorted. “I do like that idea.”

  “I don’t,” Addie said with a frown. “You might kill the Reboots.”

  “Not to mention we’re a bit short on bombs here,” Tony said. “Listen, hon—sorry, Wren—if I thought there was a way you could do it, I would tell you. But there’s nothing you can do.” He let out a long sigh. “I mean, maybe if you had an army of Reboots. But failing that, I’ve got nothing.”

  I froze, my eyes darting to Addie’s. We had the same thought.

  “How many are in there?” I asked.

  “There’s like a hundred and something.” She looked at Tony, her eyes flashing with excitement. “Right? A little over a hundred?”

  “You mean in the Austin facility? Yeah, there’re about a hundred Reboots left there. But they’re not an army; they’re prisoners.”

  I glanced at Callum, who had an eyebrow cocked, his expression disbelieving. I put my hand on his knee and gave it a gentle squeeze before facing Tony.

  “Then we’ll go let them all out.”

  THIRTY

  I TURNED TO THE FRONT DOOR AS ANOTHER HUMAN ENTERED. They’d been coming in a steady stream for the last hour, and the kitchen was starting to get full. They were all gathered around Tony, and I could hear snatches of conversation as they debated whether or not to help me. They seemed torn between calling the plan “idiotic” or “genius.”

  Tony and Desmond had stepped away as soon as I broached the idea of freeing all the Reboots in Austin. They’d had a heated argument in a back room, which ended with Desmond storming out, only to return with the first of the rebels.

  The rebels were mostly men, but they varied in age. Some looked about sixteen or seventeen, like Gabe, while others were going gray. I’d thought Gabe was Tony’s son, but he didn’t call him Dad, and I’d heard Gabe tell Addie he grew up in the orphanage. I wasn’t sure what these people had in common, besides an obvious hatred of HARC and an odd urge to help Reboots.

  They were a strange bunch.

  Desmond caught me staring at them and his eyebrows lowered. He leaned against the kitchen wall, crossing one black boot over the other, and didn’t shy away when I met his gaze. He’d been the most vocal in his opposition to the rebels helping me—“I’m not dying for them” were his exact words—and I could see his point. Still, he was one of the humans in the room who didn’t seem the least bit scared of us, and I didn’t know what to make of that.

  A short man stopped in front of me and Addie, planting his hands on his hips as he looked down at us.

  “They took you while you were on assignment last night?” he asked Addie with half a smile.

  “Yeah,” she said, shooting me a wary glance.

  “Were you on First Street? Or was one of your cohorts?”

  “Yeah,” she said in surprise. “I was sent there, but the assignment wasn’t home.”

  The man chuckled. “Yep, that was me.” He lifted his arms in victory. “Slipped by ’em again!”

  “You’re Henry?” Addie asked with
a laugh.

  “Sure am.” He grinned before heading into the kitchen to join the other rebels.

  Addie watched him go. “These humans are weird.” She put her elbow on her knee and propped her head up on her hand. “But we can’t do it without them, you know.”

  “We?” I asked, raising my eyebrows at her. We were still sitting on the floor behind the couch, Callum silent and motionless beside me.

  “Please don’t tell me you think you can break into HARC all by yourself,” she said.

  “I just didn’t realize you wanted to help.”

  “My friends are all in there. Of course I want to help.” She squinted at the rebels in the kitchen. “I wish my dad had been able to come today. I would have liked to talk to him.”

  “I doubt he could get out of Rosa.”

  “Yeah.” She frowned slightly. “I can’t believe he works for HARC. I mean, I know he’s with the rebels, but still. It’s odd.”

  “He didn’t last time you saw him?” I asked.

  She snorted. “Definitely not. I haven’t seen him since I died six years ago, so I guess stuff changes, but he hated HARC. I died at home of KDH and after I Rebooted he kept me. Said he wasn’t letting HARC have me.”

  “You’re kidding. For how long?” The parents who wanted to keep their Rebooted children were few and far between, although I wasn’t entirely surprised Leb was one of them.

  “Just a couple weeks. I eventually got all this clarity and realized he couldn’t keep me hidden forever. They would have caught him. So one day when he went to work I just left. I went to the medical center and told them I was an orphan.”

  That explained how Leb was able to work at HARC when he had a Reboot kid. They didn’t know.

  A grunt from Callum made me turn. He was leaning against the back of the couch, staring vacantly at the wall. I wrapped my fingers around his arm and it took several seconds for him to blink and turn to look at me. His eyes didn’t focus quite right.

  “You okay?” I asked. “Do you want some food?”